Yeah, I had something I was going to put for an Author's Note, but I forgot what it was, so whatever. Read and Review. I have a feeling you readers will like this chapter, a lot. For one thing, it's double the normal length. For another...well, read on.

When Issei opened his eyes, all he saw was a wall of fire. A red and orange blaze, as far as the eye could see. Amidst the inferno, a large shape moved towards him, coming closer and closer. When it got far closer than Issei was comfortable with, the shape stopped. It twisted it's form up, and what looked like a mouth opened, then all Issei heard was a deafening roar.

The top of the fire was blasted away by the sheer force of the roar, and Issei could see the head of the shape clearly. It was a large, red, western, Dragon. Not like a dragon from a kid's show, with cute eyes and a small visage. This dragon was huge, and looked ready to kill at a moment's notice.

Issei was terrified. He'd never seen something so frightening in his entire life. He moved to cover his face with his hands, only to realize he couldn't move them. His hands were firmly at his sides, and refused to move. The rest of his body wouldn't budge either. All he could do was close his eyes and scream.

To his surprise, he wasn't immediately eaten. Upon opening his eyes again, several minutes later, he saw the dragon...laughing. The huge dragon was laughing his heart out, a thunderous, and awe-inspiring sound. Issei was very confused, and still extremely scared. He had no idea how to handle the situation. He didn't have to flounder for long. The dragon spoke up.

"Hello, Partner. Glad to see you've got such lively lungs. Where are your manners? Introduce yourself to your elder!" The dragon boomed, hurting Issei's ears. The voice was so loud, Issei thought he'd have permanent hearing damage, but he answered, in his normally timid way.

"I-I-I'm Issei, H-Hyoudou, your m-majesty!" He stuttered. The dragon was silent for a few seconds, as if measuring his response, and, then...he started laughing again, even harder than the first time. Issei was starting to get annoyed, really. Here he was, scared out of his mind, and this dragon was having the time of his life.

"Your majesty?! Wow, I have been called that since I still had a body! What a riot! Bwahaha! You're going to be fun, Issei Hyoudou, I can already tell! But…!" The dragon moved uncomfortably close to Issei, putting his massive maw right in front of Issei's face. "You're going to have to work on that timidity of yours. You have the power and soul of a dragon, act like it!" The dragon shouted, far louder than he had earlier. He sounded almost angry.

"Tell me, Issei! Don't you want to be powerful?" The dragon asked, almost in a nurturing tone. He awaited Issei's response.

Issei nodded mutely. If he was powerful, no one could bully him ever again. No one would hurt him just for the pleasure of it. Not only that, but if he was powerful, he could protect the weak, like he wished so many times someone would for him. So, yes, he wanted power. He wanted it bad.

"Then take it." The dragon said to Issei, quietly. The dragon stuck a huge clawed hand out of the fire, extending it towards Issei. Inside his palm, was a growing crimson and green gauntlet. Issei thought it looked incredibly familiar, like an old friend. He rushed to take it, only for his body to refuse him yet again.

No, that's not right, my head was just moving! I just nodded! Why can't my body move? He thought. He was being denied his chance for power, for a better life. He wanted more than anything to rush forward and take the power, just like Lisa Lisa had told him. He wanted it. He wanted it more than anything. But his body wouldn't move.

"Hm. Disappointing. I thought you of all people would want the power to change the world. Very well, no power for you. We'll try again some other time." The dragon closed his claws around the gauntlet, and moved it back inside the fire.

Issei was heartbroken. He'd had a chance to finally, finally, change his life for the better, and he couldn't even do it. He couldn't even move a muscle. Issei wanted to cry. Instead, he screamed. He kept screaming "No!" over and over again, till long after the dragon had left, receded back into the fire. Soon, the dragon grew tired of it, and stuck one clawed hand out of the fire. Issei watched his the hand grew closer and closer, and impaled him through the chest.

Issei opened his eyes, and his vision swam. Fire lingered at the edges of his view, but soon dissipated. He was in a cold sweat, and this throat felt raw. He realized he was staring into the face of a very concerned woman with raven hair and violent eyes, just like Yuuma. But...it wasn't Yuuma. She had a more mature look, and harder features. Issei thought she was very attractive, as much as Yuuma even, but he was too confused to say anything about it.

"Issei, are you okay? You just kept screaming and thrashing and I couldn't get you to calm down, no matter what…" The woman said, with a tear in her eye. She sounded like Yuuma, too.

She sounds just like Yuuma...who in the world is this, and why is she here? Issei was truly confused. There was a beautiful woman standing over him, with tears in her eyes, asking if he was okay. Hadn't he just been dreaming…? What was the dream about, again? Issei couldn't remember.

"Um...don't take this the wrong way, but...who are you?" Issei asked, hesitantly. The woman looked confused by his words at first, but then began to panic. Issei grew more confused by the second. The woman ran her hands all over her face, and began to freak out.

'No! No! This can't be happening!' Raynare was thinking. She had let herself morph back into her true appearance during the night! 'Stupid, stupid! Now he'll hate me!' She was thinking about all the ways this could turn out bad. He'd think she was ugly, or he'd figure out she'd been keeping secrets, or...God forbid, he'd stop trusting her and kill himself…Raynare was so worried she felt sick.

"Yuuma? Is that you? I didn't realize that was how you looked without makeup. It really suits you, you look fantastic. I'd stop wearing makeup altogether if I were you." Issei murmured. He was still half asleep, so he probably didn't think about what he was saying. Raynare was so relieved she could cry.

Of course, of course Issei hadn't called her out on her suddenly changed appearance. Why would he? He was far too nice. He even thought she looked amazing. Raynare's heart was aflutter. She wanted to hug Issei until she suffocated him. She started laughing, and fell on top of Issei. She hugged him violently, pressing her body into his. The boy was thrashing and half-yelling about how 'they couldn't be doing this' and 'he could feel them' and other junk, but Raynare didn't care.

"Yes, Issei. It's me. I thought you'd think I was ugly, and I got so worried…" She said quietly. The boy stopping flailing his arms, and calmed down. He forced himself to breath in and out, lowering his wild heart rate. Once again, Lisa Lisa's words echoed. "Now, that girl out there is one of those dreams. Go take it!" Issei exhaled slowly, and replied to Raynare as calmly as he could.

"No, you're definitely not ugly. Far from it. At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I think you look better this way…" he murmured, blushing and scratching his cheek. Surprisingly, he didn't stutter or hesitate on even a single word. Raynare wanted to cry and laugh and sing and dance, all at the same time. She was absolutely giddy from his words. Not only did he think she looked great, she wouldn't have to hide her appearance any more! Double win! She buried her face in his chest and snuggled closely to him. He let her, despite his better judgement saying that this was a very indecent position for them to be in.

"Hey, I should tell my parents I'm here...and introduce you, I guess…" he said, hinting at her to get off of him. She hummed in agreement, but didn't move. "That means you've gotta get off of me…" he said quietly.

"Mmm...no. You're warm and I'm cozy. I say we stay just, like, this." Raynare said, not moving even an inch. Issei sighed, blushing. He was still in pajamas and Raynare was only in a thin nightgown. There was very little between the two of them, in other words.

While Issei did want to get up, he was, in fact, enjoying the contact. He hadn't had so much as a hug in years, and he was a bit touch-starved. So, Raynare laying literally facedown on top of him was a great feeling, but he knew it wasn't right. They hadn't even gone on a date, and here they were laying together on the same couch! Indecent at the very least.

"Issei, let's chat for awhile before we go talk to your parents. I want to know some more about you." Raynare said, drawing a circle on his chest with her finger. He was blushing even harder than before.

While what they were doing might not have been a big deal for Raynare, this was by far the closest Issei had ever been to a member of the opposite sex, and he was having trouble keeping his cool. What little cool he had, anyway. The whole 'half asleep' bit was starting to wear off and the reality of the situation was setting in. He was starting to freak out a little.

"W-what do you want to talk about?" He said. He wasn't adverse to conversation, and he enjoyed talking whenever someone would actually listen.

"What were you dreaming about? You wouldn't stop screaming. I honestly got really worried." She said, looking up at him. She wasn't asking just for the sake of conversation, either. She'd heard the longinus gear wielders normally have nightmares for quite some time before they finally awaken their sacred gears. She hoped that wasn't the case, because if Issei suddenly unlocked a longinus gear, it would mean death for both of them. Him, for being a threat to Kokabiel, and her, for not eliminating him when she had a chance.

"I...I don't remember. There was fire, but I can't remember anything else. Just fire." Issei replied, trying to remember the details of the dream and failing each time.

Well, that's a good sign. If all he saw was fire, it's probably not a longinus gear. If it was, then it's just something like Incinerate Anthem and Kokabiel wouldn't have to kill him for it.

"Weird. Okay, now you ask me a question. Anything you want." Raynare said. She was just glad he didn't dream of Dragons or Shadows or Holy Spears or anything like that. She didn't expect his next question at all.

"Why...why me?" He asked, looking her in the eye. She tilted her head in confusion, not really understanding his question. He went on. "Why did you ask out someone like me? A girl like you could've had any pick of guys, whoever you wanted. So, why me? What's so special about me?" Issei asked. Not only did he not stutter or hesitate, he sounded almost...angry.

Raynare was visibly taken aback by his question. She'd expected something like 'Why are you still on top of me?' or another pointless question like that, not something really meaningful. She didn't really have an answer, and she doubted he'd be on board with the whole 'I was ordered to kill you but I've fallen hopelessly in love with you' line. As true as it was, it definitely wasn't something he needed to hear.

Raynare didn't know what to say. So, she didn't say a thing.

She leaned closer to Issei...

...and kissed him.

Issei had no idea what was going on. He'd lost all of his higher brain functions the moment her lips met his. That definitely wasn't the answer he was after, but it fit his question just the same. He knew, in that moment, that she wasn't just doing this to embarrass him, or to belittle him, or to hurt him. She really did love him. And here he was, trying to force her to admit she didn't. What a jerk.

So, instead of pulling back, Issei took Lisa Lisa's advice on in full. He kissed Raynare back, which shocked the Angel arguably more than the initial kiss shocked Issei. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her as close as he could.

A knock at the door grabbed their attention. Raynare quickly leapt off of Issei, and he jumped off the couch. They both composed themselves as fast as possible before whoever was there opened the door. The door turned, and Issei's mother came through it.

Issei's mother was a short woman, about 5'7, with long brown hair tied in a tight bun so none fell onto her face. She wore a tight and well-kempt dress suit, black with a gray skirt, and there was a cross necklace on her chest. She had small black glasses on, and they were on the bridge of her nose rather than in front of her eyes. Issei's mom was the very dictionary definition of a strict looking woman. Raynare was immediately on guard, as she didn't look like someone who'd be too happy about her son bringing home a girl.

Issei immediately tensed up. Whatever this woman did to him, Raynare noticed, it left him on guard. As his mom opened the door and stepped into the room, she took in the situation. She wasn't pleased, and it showed. The look on her face was one of disgust.

She looked back and forth between her son and the strange woman, and made the sign of the cross. The action annoyed Raynare, but she noticed Issei was still on guard. Was she not going to hit him? Well, she probably wouldn't with Raynare here.

The woman walked to the pair, and stopped just in front of them. She looked Raynare up and down, the turned to Issei, completely disregarding her.

"Son, what is the meaning of this? You not only come home late from the hospital after getting in a fight, you bring home this...this whore? I'm disappointed. I'm sure the Lord is too." His mother said, not breaking her completely straight face. Issei looked down, ashamed. Raynare looked completely aghast.

She'd been wrong. Both her, and Doctor Lisa Lisa, had been wrong. Issei's parents weren't abusive, they were just completely oppressive and rigid. No wonder Issei hated it here. The Mother was stern as hell, and if Raynare had to guess, the Father would be far worse.

His mother continued, leaving no room for a reply. "Your Father is downstairs, waiting for you. He's in his office, and I suggest you don't keep him waiting. But, I'd also suggest you make yourself...decent." With that, she shot Raynare one last dismissive look, and left. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Issei slumped down back onto the couch, and sat with his head in his hands. Raynare rubbed his back, comforting him.

"I knew they wouldn't be great, but wow. I'm a whore, huh? Ouch." Raynare said, thinking about the conversation. Issei didn't say anything. He just sat there, head in hands, thinking about how that went down. It actually went better than he expected it would, but to be personally reprimanded by his father had Issei terrified. He wouldn't be lenient.

"Hey, Issei...it's okay." Raynare said. She crouched down, and he looked at her. His face was lined with sweat, and his eyes were wide. She knew her sentence was half-assed, but she was new to comforting people,and frankly, she didn't know what to say.

"You don't understand." He said, scared. "If you thought my mom was bad, wait till you see my dad. He's...he's something else. Just...no matter what they say, let me do the talking. They won't listen to you, because you're a woman."

'Wait, seriously? This family is that backwards? Wow.' Raynare thought. They wouldn't listen to her, just because she's a chick? Yikes. She'd heard of families with strong religious roots being oppressive before, but this was like, stereotype level.

"Okay, Issei. I trust you." She said. Then she grabbed her bag, that somehow Issei hadn't noticed her bring, and excused herself to the bathroom to change. Issei changed in his room, and knocked on the bathroom door to signal Raynare when he was decent. She walked out of the bathroom, and they were both stunned.

Issei was wearing a white, long-sleeve, button up shirt, with a black tie and black slacks. He was neatly shaven, and looked phenomenal.

'Wow, he cleans up nice! He was handsome before, but now he's kinda hot…' Raynare thought, her Fallen nature getting the better of her. In Issei's mind, he looked terrible, and Raynare eyeing him meant that she didn't like it. He didn't say anything about it, though, because he was too busy staring at her.

Raynare was wearing a black dress/suit with a black blazer and black tie, as well as a black skirt and heels. She had on a white undershirt, as well. The clothes were normal enough, if a bit formal, but Issei was thunderstruck by her beauty.

"Y-Yuuma, you look…" Issei trailed off mid-sentence. Raynare swished her dress around, teasing him.

"You don't look half bad yourself, Issei. You look fancy, very nice." She said, looking him up and down with an approving gaze. It made Issei blush, like she was looking at a prime cut of meat. She was thinking about eating him, but not in the way he thought. They walked up to each other.

"T-thanks. Our formal is their casual, so this might not even cut it. Well, we should go, let's get this over with. Please, just don't do anything rash. This is gonna be bad, and I don't want to make it worse. Okay?" She nodded. She didn't want to make things worse for him, either.

They walked out of Issei's room, and down the stairs. Raynare hadn't noticed it before, since it was dark, but the house was gorgeous. It was also spotless, eerily so. There wasn't a single thing misplace, nor a single speck of dirt on their white carpets. It didn't look like a family lived there, at all. It looked like a CEO's office would. Raynare was starting to get a better picture of Issei's home life with every minute she spent here.

'This must be awful. Such a strict household, I think I'd hate it here for sure. Hell, I already hate it here. I can only imagine how Issei feels.' Raynare thought to herself as they walked into the lower part of Issei's house.

As they entered the living room, they passed Issei's mother, who was reading the paper and drinking what Raynare could only assume was the blackest coffee ever poured. It stunk, and to Raynare's enhanced sense of smell, it was disgusting. She almost gagged. As they approached his mother, she gestured for them to go through a closed door to her side.

As Issei approached the door, Raynare looked back at his mother. She was glaring at Raynare, like she was a stain to be rid of. It made Raynare's skin crawl, but she dealt with it, for Issei. If she made a scene, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

Issei opened the door, and they both stepped into what she guessed was his father's office. The room was extremely tidy and well kempt, with not a single thing out on the lacquered wooden floor, save a desk, which Issei's father was sitting in. A grandfather clock ticked away in a corner, and books lined shelves on the walls.

Issei's father was obviously a stern man. His face was tight and unmoving, and his jaw was hard. He wore a brown suit, and had thick glasses on his face. He looked down at a laptop seated on his hardwood desk, and was typing something when the pair walked in. As they approached, Issei cleared his throat to catch his father's attention.

The man looked up, and displeasure briefly crossed his face. He was angry, though you probably couldn't tell from his face. Raynare stood still behind Issei, who was fidgeting and trembling. The boy was obviously terrified, but that didn't seem to phase his father.

"Issei Hyoudou. I have you have an adequate excuse for not only getting home late, but getting into a fight and bringing home some...harlot." The man said, briefly glancing at Raynare, who didn't react to the comment.

"I-I-I w-w-w-was-"

"I see you still have that pathetic stutter. Fine, don't talk, just listen." The father said, and leaned back in his chair. Issei hung his head in shame at not being able to formulate a sentence.

Raynare grew angrier by the second. They could treat her however, sure, but their own son?

"You got into a fight. You went to the hospital without out knowledge, then arrived home at an ungodly hour. Not only did you bring this woman into our home without my knowledge or permission, you slept with her."

"N-no, we…!" Issei started to say something to deny his father's accusation, but he was interrupted.

"I don't want to hear it. We have tried, and tried, and tried to raise you right, but it seems like the devil is a bit too strong in you. You're too much for us to handle, and you're bringing disgrace on our family name."

Issei shook his head, but didn't say anything. Raynare was reaching her limit. She was seething, and every word out of the father's mouth was like nails on a chalkboard to her. How dare he talk down to his own flesh and blood like that? Despicable.

"You recently turned 17. You're old enough to strike out on your own." Issei's father said. Issei's eyes went wide, and he started shaking his head rapidly.

"N-no…" he murmured. Issei's world was spinning. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Issei Hyoudou. You've been an embarrassment and a burden to this family since the day we adopted you." The father said, without remorse.

Raynare gaped. Of course he was adopted. No wonder he's so alone, these aren't even his real parents! But then…what happened to them, and why was Issei stuck here?

"No, please...don't do this to me!" Issei said, raising his voice.

Raynare grew increasingly worried. She hadn't pieced together what the father was getting at, yet, but she knew it must be bad if Issei was actually yelling.

"Issei, I'm disowning you. You'll find 30 million yen in your bank account. That should be more than enough to buy your own house. Take what you need from your room and never come back here. That's all." His father looked back down at his computer, completely dismissing Issei.

The boy was shaking. Tears fell from his eyes. His hands clenched into fists, and he was struggling to stay on his feet. Raynare's fists were clenched too, but for entirely different reasons.

She was pissed. Raynare had been mad before. When she Fell, was one time. When she saved Issei from Matsuda, that was another. But now, she was seeing red and trying to resist impaling Issei's pathetic excuse for a stepfather right where he sat.

She wouldn't do anything so rash, but she would speak her mind, Issei's request be damned.

"You're pathetic." Raynare said, walking up till she stood right in front of the man's desk. He looked up at her with a surprised look on his face, like he was flabbergasted that she could even talk.

"You have no to right to speak to me as such in my own house. You played a part in corrupting him, I'd wager, so don't try to speak to me like you're some kind of angel." The father looked back down, dismissing her entirely.

It only made her angrier. She raised her had to slap him. Sure, it wasn't the best course of action, but it would give them both some satisfaction, at least. She swung her hand at him. He looked up with an uncaring look on his face.

Issei caught Raynare's arm, preventing her from hitting his ex-stepfather. She turned back to look at him, and saw that his hair was covering his eyes, but the tears had stopping flowing down his face. Issei looked mad, not scared. The man chuckled, surprising both of them.

"You need to put a tighter leash on your slut girlfriend, Issei. She shouldn't be raising her hand against a man." He said, sinking back in his chair. Raynare sneered, but didn't move closer. She didn't have to.

Issei lunged forward and punched the pathetic man in his face, sending him sprawling from his chair.

Raynare gasped. That wasn't at all what she expected, but she was glad it happened. The man deserved that and more.

"Don't talk about her like that. I've only known her for a few days and she's already done more for me than you ever have." Issei growled. Raynare wasn't sure where this side of him had come from, but she definitely liked it. Standing up for her, and himself, all in one move? Amazing. She was falling for him harder and harder, every time he opened his mouth.

Issei's father slowly picked himself up. His glasses were cracked in one lense, but he put them back on his face anyway. He laughed again.

"I'll give you that one, I suppose. You only proved my point. Now leave, before I call the police." He said, and made a gesture towards the door behind them. Issei grabbed Raynare's hand and quickly retreated from the room. She followed close behind him, hurrying to keep up.

His mother was nowhere to be seen when they left the office, and they hurried up to Issei's room. Issei opened the door to let Raynare in, then followed behind her. As soon as they were both inside, Issei closed the door behind them, and collapsed against it, sliding down. He started sobbing, and Raynare was at his side instantly.

They both sat on the ground for several minutes, Raynare just holding his hands in hers, before either of them said anything. When one of them did speak up, it was Raynare.

"Issei...I'm sorry." She said. He sniffled and looked at her, wondering what she meant.

"For what…? I meant what I said in there, by the way…" He said, quietly.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't come home with you, this wouldn't have happened…" She said, truly sorry. He didn't quite see it the same way. He sighed, and after a moment he replied.

"No, it still would've happened. It might not have happened then, but it would've happened. I'm just not meant to have a family, I guess." Issei said. His stutter was gone. He was too emotionally defeated to care about how he sounded or what he said. He was broken.

Raynare, too, was hurting. Not because of what his step-douche said to her, she really didn't care, but because of what Issei had to go through. Whatever happened to his real parents obviously scarred him, and then he had to go and leave with these human garbage bags for however long? The poor boy.

"Issei, that's not true. I promise, you'll have a family of your own one day, and we'll- um, they'll love you forever. These people aren't even worth your time." Raynare said, and hugged him. He kept crying.

"Hey, Yuuma. I have a weird question…" Issei asked, slowly. He didn't mess up a single word, but his voice was thick with sadness.

"Yes, Issei? You can ask me anything, I promise." She said. She held his hands firmly, like he'd run off if she gave him half a chance. He traced circles on the back of her hands, like she'd done with him before. It gave them both a small amount of comfort.

"Do you think God is real?" He asked. His hair still covered his eyes, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Obviously she knew God was real, she'd seen him before. He was dead now, but Issei definitely didn't need to know that.

"...I do, Issei. What makes you ask that?" She was almost afraid of his answer. What could make him ask something like that? She desperately hoped he wasn't thinking of suicide again.

"If there really is a God, why is my life so horrible? It's not like I haven't prayed, or asked for salvation. Why couldn't he just help me, or send me an angel or something?" Issei asked, more talking to himself than her at this point. His voice made her sad beyond belief.

'Oh, Issei. He already has, you just don't know it yet.' Raynare thought. She almost considered just showing Issei her wings right then and there, just to comfort him. She quickly dismissed the idea, though. He probably wouldn't react well. She wasn't absolutely sure that was what he needed, not yet.

"Maybe you do have a guardian angel, Issei. Maybe her name is Raynare or something, and she's closer than you think." Raynare said. She was getting dangerously close to revealing the truth, but she didn't care. This boy needed some hope, or love, or something.

Issei gave a dry laugh. "Is that so? Well, I must make her job pretty hard. I hope she has black wings, instead of white. Are they even white? Who cares, angels probably don't exist anyway. God, I'm a mess." He rambled, not even caring what came out of his mouth anymore.

Raynare almost wanted to laugh.

'Black wings instead of white, huh? Well, I've got just what the doctor ordered.' She thought. If she doubted Issei was perfect for her before, she knew he was now. She made her choice.

"Angels don't exist, huh? Be careful, Issei. You'll hurt my feelings."

'Please don't hate me…' She thought.

Raynare unfurled her wings.